Reconciliation in South Africa: Recent contributions and the part African Pentecostalism can play

Abstract

The current socio-political approaches to reconciliation in South Africa are fragile which is evidenced by the high levels of poverty, corruption, and inequalities which cancel the strides taken in the right direction of democratizing and unifying the country. These inadequacies evidence a need to come up with new ideas, particularly from the religious sector, that can play a leading role in enhancing the capacity of these socio-political systems to build reconciled and peaceful communities. Pentecostalism has the potential to be used as an instrument of peace and reconciliation in our community, therefore this article explores African Pentecostalism as a way of assessing how this tradition can contribute to the transformation of communities, leading to co-existence, reconciliation, and love for the other. To achieve this objective, this study will make use of a systematic review methodology which will involve analyzing selected works written by various scholars on the topic of reconciliation and African Pentecostalism.